Thiopurine use may be associated with nonmelanoma skin cancers in IBD

The latest issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology reports that thiopurine use may be associated with nonmelanoma skin cancers in IBD.

Thiopurines are the mainstay of treatment for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Thiopurine therapy increases the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancers in organ transplant patients.

The data on nonmelanoma skin cancers in patients with IBD on thiopurines is conflicting.

Drs Jonathan Ariyaratnam and Venkataraman Subramanian from the United Kingdom searched electronic databases for full journal articles reporting on the risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancers in patients with IBD on thiopurine, and hand searched the reference lists of all retrieved articles.